Fire alarm device



June 2, 1936.

c. J. ROHLAND 2,043,122

FIRE ALARM DEVICE Filed Oct. 30, 1931 mv nuke. Cari J: RohZand,

Patented June 2, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE FIRE ALARM DEVICE chusetts Application October 30, 1931, Serial No. 572,100

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to fire alarm systems and more particularly to the despatching mechanism for a fire alarm box by which a given code signal is sent to fire headquarters, or broadcasted to separate stations.

In apparatus of this type, as heretofore constructed, the despatching mechanism of a call box is usually set in operation by a hand lever, movement of the lever causing a spring to be wound, after which said spring actuates the despatching mechanism upon release of the lever. Should the person turning in the alarm hold the lever at the end of its movement without releasing it, the mechanism is not allowed to operate and no signal is sent. On the other hand, should the person turning in the alarm attempt to actuate the lever repeatedly, no results being immediately apparent from the first movement of the lever, an incorrect signal is liable to be transmitted, especially when the despatching mechanism is sending a code signal indicating the location of the box.

With the above objections of prior mechanisms in mind, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a despatching mechanism which is set in operation immediately upon movement of the lever, said mechanism being independent of said lever after having been set in operation, and operating independently of the position of said lever.

According to the present invention, the manually operated actuating lever is arranged to be easily turned by a pull away from the box face and to be released automatically from operative connection with said despatching mechanism after said lever has been moved through the predetermined path, thereby breaking the connection between said lever and the despatching mechanism so that said despatching mechanism after having been set in operation, continues to operate independently of the position of the lever, until the mechanism has substantially completed its operation. The connection between said lever and the despatching mechanism is so arranged that the members cannot again be operatively connected until at least one complete signal has been sent by said mechanism. The actuating lever is automatically returned to its original position after release, so that when the operation of the despatching mechanism is completed, said lever is again in position to be connected to said mechanism and in a position for again setting again actuated, said operative connection being impossible until the operation of the despatching mechanism is substantially completed. Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:--

Fig. 1 is an elevation view of a fire alarm box showing the actuating lever.

Fig. 2 is a front View of the despatching mechanism within the box.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of the despatching mechanism, parts being broken away to show the construction thereof.

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3, the parts being in the position in which the actuating lever is released from the despatching mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view, illustrating the position of the operating handle.

Like reference characters refer to like throughout the drawing.

I parts Referring particularly to the drawing, the fire alarm box I is provided with a cover or door 2 hingedly mounted at 3 on said box. Within the box is located the usual despatching mechanism shown in Fig. 2 arranged to be actuated by a lever 4 which is accessible from the front of the box when the door 2 is open and which, as indicated in Fig. 1, is moved downwardly and upwardly with respect to the box, through a predetermined angle.

The despatching mechanism is of the usual construction having a spring, not shown, contained within a case 5 carried by the frame 6 of the despatching mechanism. The spring which is mounted on a shaft 1 is arranged to be coiled in response to forward and downward swinging movement of the lever 4 throughinterengagement of a gear 8 on the shaft 1 with a sector gear H! on the shaft l l the lever 4 being mounted on the latter shaft. Rotation of the lever 4 through its predetermined angular path rotates the gear l0 through the same angle, thereby winding the spring within the case 5, so that upon release of the lever 4 at the end of its movement, the tension of the spring actuates the despatching mechanism to send'the predetermined signal to fire headquarters.

According to the present invention, a releasable connection is providedbetween the lever 4 and the gear IE3, so that as the lever reaches the end of its predetermined movement, the gear I9 is released therefrom and the despatching mechanism may operate independently of the position of said lever. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the gear l0, which is rotatably mounted on the shaft I I, carries thereon a link I2 pivotally mounted on a stud I3 attached to said gear and spaced from the shaft II. The link I2 carries a projecting tooth I4 which is adapted to engage with a tooth I5 formed on a collar I6 rigidly secured to the shaft II. In the normal position of the lever 4, the teeth I4 and I5 are in the position of Fig. 3, so that as the shaft I I is rotated counterclockwise (as viewed in Fig. 3), the tooth I5 rotates therewith and engages with the tooth I4 on the link I2, as shown in dotted lines, thereby providing a positive driving connection from the lever 4 to the gear Ill. As the shaft II is rotated, the gear I0 rotates as a unit with said shaft to turn the shaft 1 and coil the spring prior to setting the despatching mechanism in operation.

As the lever 4 reaches the end of its downward movement, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the gear and shaft assume a position in. which the driving connection between the lever and the gear ID has been broken. Just before the lever 4 reaches the end of its downward movement, when said lever and. gear are still positively connected, the downwardly extending end I! of the link I2. engages a stud I8 mounted on the. frame 6 of the despatching mechanism, whereby, upon continued counterclockwise rotation of the shaft II, the tooth I4 is withdrawn from engagement with the tooth I5 on the collar I6. In this position, the gear I'D may rotate clockwise, independently of the position of. the shaft II, so that the despatching mechanism operates without respect to the location of the lever 4. As the despatching mechanism continues to operate in response to the driving, spring, the shaft I slowly turns in the opposite direction and the gear Ill rotates clockwise, until it again assumes the position shown in Fig. 3 at the completion of the operation of the despatching mechanism. During the clockwise rotation of said gear I 9, a spring 20 rigidly mounted on the end of the stud I3 on which the link I2 is mounted engages a pin 2I on said link I2, thereby exerting a force tending to turn the link I2 clockwise about the stud I3. This turning of the link I2 is limited by engagement of a surface 22 on said link I2 with the collar IB', as shown in Fig. 4, the degree of rotation of said link being only suificient to separate the teeth I4 and I5 radially and prevent said teeth from interlocking as the gear I0 rotates clockwise.

As the mechanism again assumes the position shown in Fig. 3, the link I2 is urged. into operative position, so that the tooth I4 may interlock with the tooth I5 on the collar I6, by the same spring 20. In the position shown in Fig. 3, the end of the spring 20 is engaged by the stud I8, so that said spring is moved into engagement with a second pin 23 carried by the link I2. The link I2- is turned counterclockwise in response to the spring, thus bringing the teeth I4 and I5 into the operative position of Fig. 3. The spring 20 is aided in this movement by the weight of the link [2", which as shown tends to swing the link I2 counterclockwise. A coil spring 24 encircles the shaft I I, one end of said spring engaging the collar I6 and the other end engaging a portion of the frame 6, thereby tending to swing the shaft with the lever arm 4 to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, immediately upon release of said lever. Therefore, the lever 4 is always in position for despatching another signal when the des patching mechanism has completed its operation.

The arrangement of spring 20 is such that even should the lever arm 4 be swung downwardly only part way and then released, the link I2 is immediately swung, clockwise by the pressure of the spring on the pin 2| to separate the interlocking teeth I4 and I5. This disengagement of the teeth permits the despatching mechanism to operate for at least a portion of its cycle, the spring 20 holding the link I2 in inoperative position so that subsequent movement of the lever arm 4 is ineffective until the despatching mechanism has completed its operation. While pressure is maintained on the lever arm 4 during the movement of said arm downwardly, the friction between the interlocking teeth I4 and I5 is sufficient to overcome the effect of the spring 2!]; otherwise the teeth are separated either at the end of the movement of the lever arm by engagement of the link I2 and stud I8, or by release of the lever arm before said arm reaches the downward limit of its movement, the spring 24 then returning the lever arm to original position.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the despatching mechanism is always fully wound by movement of the lever 4 forwardly and downwardly (Figs. 1- and 2) until the teeth l4 and I5 which connect the lever arm to the spring winding mechanism, are moved out of engagement by the stud I8 at vthe end of the lever movement. From this point, the operation of the despatching mechanism carries on, irrespective of the position of the lever 4 and whether or not it is released, the operation continuing until said spring is substantially unwound and the mechanism assumes the original position shown in Fig. 3 in readiness for another winding of the spring. Should the lever 4 be turned while the spring is still unwinding, it will have no effect on the mechanism until the teeth I4 and I5 automatically assume their operative position at the completion of an operating cycle of the despatching mechanism. Thus, when a code is being transmitted, it cannot be interrupted by turning the lever, repeatedly, since the. lever is entirely disconnected from the winding gear I 0 until the cycle is completed.

As illustrative of the utility of the invention, the essential elements of. one form of despatching or code sending mechanism are shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In this mechanism, the shaft 1 which is turned by the winding spring carries a gear 25 in mesh with a pinion 26 mounted on a shaft 21. As best shown in Fig. 2, the shaft 2'! extends beyond the left hand frame 6 and carries a code disk 28 adapted to cooperate with contacts 29 and 30 mounted on a bracket 3| and insulated from each other. Part of the code disk 28 is shown as projecting below the broken away portion of the frame 6 in Fig. 3, the disk 28 carrying projections 28a adapted to determine a code signal in accordance with the spacing therebetween. The normally engaged contacts 29 and 30 extend to a point below the disk 28 and one contact carries an operating portion 32 of insulating material which is adapted to be engaged by the projections 28a on the disk when the latter rotates to intermittently separate the contacts.

Each revolution of the disk 28 is therefore adapted to make and break a circuit under the control of thecontacts 29 and 39, in accordance with the arrangement of the code determining projections 28a, and preferably the ratio between the gear 25 and pinion 26 is such that one com plete winding of the spring by pulling down the lever 2 all the way is sufiicient to turn the shaft 2'! and its code disk 28 through several complete revolutions. In other words, moving the lever 4 from its normal position shown in Fig. 1 to the dotted line position of Fig. 4 initiates the sending of a complete cycle of signals in accordance with a code, irrespective of whether the handle 4 is released or not, and the signal cycle is completed, Without interruption or disturbance, even though the handle be removed repeatedly during the sending of the signals. On the other hand, should a person in the excitement of the moment of sending an alarm pull down the handle 4 only part of the way and then release it, the gear It] will be turned far enough to partially wind the spring and thereby cause the turning of the code disk 28 through at least one revolution to sound the code number once at fire headquarters, or throughout the system under control.

I claim,

1. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response to rocking movement of said gear, a manually actuated lever, a shaft to which said lever is secured, the latter being turnable. in response to actuation of the lever, a link carried by said gear, cooperating teeth on said link and shaft for interengagement whereby turning movement l of the gear is procured in response to movement of the lever, means acting on said link independently of said lever for releasing the connection between said teeth after the lever has been moved a predetermined amount in one direction even though said lever is still held manually, and means for maintaining said link and lever in disconnected relation independently of the position of the lever until the actuating mechanism has substantially completed its operation;

2. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response to rocking movement of said gear, a manually actuated lever, a shaft to which said lever is secured, the latter being turnable in response to actuation of the lever, a link carried by said gear, cooperating teeth on said link and shaft for interengagement whereby turning movement of the gear is procured in response to movement of the lever, means acting on said link independently of said lever for releasing the connection between said teeth after the lever has been moved a predetermined amount in one direction even though said lever is still held manually, spring means for returning said lever to original position when said lever is released, and means for maintaining said link and lever in disconnected relation independently of the position of said lever until the actuating mechanism has substantially completed its operation.

3. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response to turning movement of said gear, a shaft on which said gear is turnable, a manually actuated lever secured to said shaft for turning said shaft in response to movement of said lever, a link pivotally mounted on said gear and having a tooth thereon, a tooth on said shaft in opposed relation to the tooth on said link, means for yieldably maintaining said teeth in interengagement, and means separate from said shaft and lever for pivotally turning said link for disengaging said teeth after said lever has been turned a predetermined amount and is still held manually, to release said gear and thereby provide for operation of the actuating mechanism.

4. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response. to turning movement of said gear, a shaft on which said gear is turnable, a manually actuated lever secured to said shaft for turning said shaft in response to movement of said lever, a link pivotally mounted on said gear and having a tooth thereon, a tooth on said shaft in opposed relation to the tooth on said link, means for yieldably maintaining said teeth in interengagement, and means for pivotally turning said link for disengaging said teeth after said lever has been turned a predetermined amount and is still held manually, to release said gear and thereby provide for operation of the actuating mechanism, said yieldable means also serving to maintain said teeth in separated relation after they have been disengaged and until the gear has returned substantially to its' original position.

5. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response to turning movement of said gear, a 9

manually operable lever mounted to turn with a rotatable shaft, a link pivotally mounted on said gear, cooperating teeth on said link and on said lever shaft respectively, which teeth when in engagement are adapted to impart turning move ment of said lever to said gear, a stationary stop ofiset from the axis of said lever shaft for positively disengaging said teeth after the lever has been turned a predetermined amount in one direction, even though said lever is still held manually, and means for maintaining the teeth on said link and lever disengaged independently of the position of said lever, until the actuating mechanism has substantially completed its operation. 7

6. In an alarm device, an actuating mechanism for the code sending element of a despatching mechanism, a gear connected to said actuating mechanism for energizing the latter in response to turning movement of said gear, a manually operable lever mounted to turn with a rotatable shaft, a link pivotally mounted on said gear, cooperating teeth on said link and on said lever shaft respectively, which teeth when in engagement are adapted to impart turning movement of said lever to said gear, a stationary stop offset from the axis of said lever shaft for positively disengaging said teeth after the lever has been turned a predetermined amount in one direction,

even though said lever is still held manually, and

means for maintaining the teeth on said link and lever disengaged independently of the position of said lever, until the actuating mechanism has substantially completed its operation, with said stop also serving to move the tooth on said link into operative relation with respect to the tooth on said shaft upon the return of said gear to its initial position following operation of said actuating mechanism.

CURT J. ROHLAND. 

